Broadcast Magazine – 22 August 2019

broadcastnow.co.uk 23 August 2019 | Broadcast | 35

Tips for casting brands as your partners

BEN has more than 40 years of experience successfully integrating brands

into fi lms and TV shows. Here, the company reveals the do’s and don’ts

Queer Eye has found success by subtly

working with brands but, in general,

should programme-makers encourage

talent to promote brands in their shows?

Many non-fi ction programmes use brands to

help bring episodes and stories to life. The

objective of Queer Eye is to tell relatable

stories. Each episode focuses on providing

a candidate with solutions to improve their

life. These come in the form of fashion retailers,

gyms and lifestyle tips, so it is essential to the

story to lean into real-life brands.

What does best practice look like?

The best guiding principle is to keep the audi-

ence experience in mind. When producers

stay true to their stories and brands keep

honest to their brand guidelines, and they

agree how the brand is used, the audience

experience is never compromised. We call it

our ‘consensus triangle’. If either side com-

promises their principles, it will be obvious

and both parties can, and should, walk away.

How can brand integration help establish

a programme’s vocabulary, look and tone?

This is most evident in feature fi lms or

dramas. Period scripts rely on brands to

establish time periods, through wardrobe,

vehicles, props, set decorating and verbal ref-

erences to cultural moments at that particular

time. Most recently, Stranger Things bril-

liantly featured ‘New Coke’ in the third

series. The Duffer Brothers incorporated

Coca-Cola’s controversial move to launch

the new drink to the big debate in the US in

1985: ‘New Coke’ vs ‘Old Coke’. This is a

terrifi c example of creative driving the story.

How can a brand infl uence

a programme’s story?

A brand should enhance a story, not overtake

it. It can be a solution to a problem such as

technology or transportation, and it can

deliver character rendering from a costume

designer, like the fashion brands in Crazy

Rich Asians or Sex In The City.

What constitutes bad practice and how

does it do damage?

Every bad brand integration is a result of

shortsightedness from brands or their agen-

cies, meaning they only see the script as a

means to insert commercial messages, and

not as a privilege.

Are producers and broadcasters willing

to work with brands on content?

Yes, they are. At BEN, we are story-centric.

For 40-plus years, we’ve supported the crea-

tive, so the entertainment community trusts

us and our brand solutions. We are the exclu-

sive partners of the Producers Guild of

America as a result of our sterling reputation.

Globally, producers, directors, talent, distrib-

utors and platforms work with us and our

brands, and the evidence of success is hun-

dreds of successful fi lms and TV series that

authentically incorporate products.

What can you say to those who are

unsure about the benefi ts, and the

optics, associated with brands

appearing in content?

Studies show audiences prefer to see true-life

products in programmes. Those same studies

also show a void of brands is disruptive to the

watching experience. Brands can also help

with off-setting budgets and in co-marketing

effort and there’s no risk to scripts, as ‘no’ is a

perfectly acceptable answer. It’s worth noting

‘branded content’ is different from ‘brands in

content’, which means working with creators

and existing IP. Branded content is brands or

advertisers creating long-form stories focused

on, or funded by, that advertiser or brand.

Without regulation on SVoDs, how do we

know where the line is?

The writers and producers are the line. The

streaming platforms don’t rely on advertising

money, and therefore don’t need to push

brands or integrations onto their writers.

Their story-centric approach is a signifi cant

driver of the success.

What are the red fl ags when it comes

to brands?

For us, it’s when a brand wants to be heavy-

handed with its messaging in a script. We will

try to educate them that the optimal result for

them is through collaboration and respect of the

creative process. Usually writers craft moments

involving a brand far better than we can. ■

We will try to educate brands

that the optimal result for them

is through collaboration and respect

of the creative process. Usually,

writers craft moments involving

brands far better than we can

ben.productplacement.com

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK

Queer Eye: brands that

fi t authentically have a

humanising element

CARESSA DOUGLAS

Senior vice-president,

global strategic

partnerships, BEN